London Interviews

[Joe Reddy]

Do all SMC applicants get invited for an interview or is this process by random selection.

[esijan]

Hi joe and welcome , All SMC applicants (main and spouse) WITHOUT Joboffer will consider for an interview (mostly by phone) , there are lots of comments and useful description about interviews here in this forum..

wish u the best

[JandM]

As esijan says, everyone applying for SMC without a job offer will be interviewed. Just to add, it's not a question of being INVITED to be interviewed - it's a mandatory part of the process. The CO will be assessing their ability to settle into NZ life, their preparedness, and employability. And actually, not everyone is told to have their partner available. I originally thought that might depend on whether or not the applicant had claimed points for their partner, but it doesn't seem to tie in 100%.

[IanW99]

As esijan says, everyone applying for SMC without a job offer will be interviewed....

Probably correct for the OP, but there are another group of people who won't need to be interviewed...

Principal applicants who have undertaken full time study for at least two years in New Zealand that has resulted in:
 the award of a Doctorate or Masters degree, or
 a qualification in an area of identified future growth or relevant to an occupation in absolute shortage;

Ian

[JandM]

Thanks, Ian - seeing that, I've just gone hunting in the Operations Manual and found this. I think it's the same thing in different words.

SM21.5 Assessment of ability to settle and contribute
Principal applicants who:
qualify for 50 points for an offer of skilled employment or current skilled employment in New Zealand for less than 12 months; or
qualify for 60 points for current skilled employment in New Zealand for twelve months or more; or
have undertaken full time study for at least two years in New Zealand that has resulted in the award of a Doctorate or Masters degree
have demonstrated the ability to successfully settle in and contribute to New Zealand.

Principal applicants who do not have points for any of these factors will be further assessed to determine whether they can otherwise demonstrate an ability to successfully settle and contribute or can realise their potential to successfully settle in and contribute to New Zealand.

http://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/